1. Technical Field
This invention relates to an infant tub and, more particularly, to a collapsible infant tub that may be raised or lowered for convenience.
2. Prior Art
The bathing of an infant child is a task but is usually one that is enjoyed by the infant as well as the person bathing the child, usually the child's parent. Infant children enjoy the feel and texture of the bath water as well as playing in the water. As a result, the bath water can be expected to splash from within the infant bathing apparatus to the surrounding area wherever the child is being bathed. Accordingly, the most convenient bathing device for a child is that of a kitchen sink, wherein some sort of plastic bathtub is utilized.
These plastic bathtubs may take on two forms, one of which is a plastic container that simply fits within the sink where the child is being bathed. The other sink type of plastic bathtubs are adapted to fit the frame of the sink so that the child and the water will be oriented in a particular direction usually semi-sitting while being bathed.
The kitchen sink type of child bathing apparatus is not always conveniently used in a kitchen sink. The normal schedule of everyday matters may dictate that the kitchen sink be utilized for other purposes at a time for the child's bath. Then, of course, the child must be bathed in a bathtub in a bathroom facility. In these instances the plain plastic tub or the one adapted to fit the kitchen sink is usually not suitable for use within a bathtub.
Furthermore, it is very inconvenient for the person bathing the child to have to kneel by the bathtub and extend his upper body and arms into the bathtub and within the child bathing device therein in order to bathe the child. This latter aspect seriously detracts from the enjoyment experienced by the parent and the baby during his bath. Because a baby is very tender, the mother or nurse must carefully catch the baby with one hand and then wash the baby with the other hand. Bathing or washing an infant child in a bathtub is difficult because there is the possibility that the infant will break loose from the mother's grasp and strike his or her head on the hard bathtub surface, with consequent possibility of injury.
Accordingly, a need remains for a tub made especially for infants that allows caregivers to more comfortably bathe infants and overcome the above-noted shortcomings.